Summer Restaurant Plans — Feedback Wanted

Fine dining at Bearskin Lodge

We’re discussing summer restaurant plans with Chez Jude, the fine dining establishment that prepared such amazing meals for Bearskin guests this winter. We’ve tossed around lots of ideas and haven’t settled on anything yet for certain, so we’d like some input from you.

Easing back into the restaurant business is a slow process; we’re not able to offer dining every night yet. We also know that our summer guests would appreciate options, but our dining space is not large enough to offer a variety of dining alternatives all at once.

One idea we’re considering is to have two very different dining nights at Bearskin.One night would be fine dining night, presenting 3 – 4 course gourmet dinners like Chez Jude prepared during the winter. Another night could be family dining night, offering more casual food. What do you think of this idea?Which type of meals would you be more likely to enjoy at Bearskin Lodge?For casual dining nights, what types of foods would you prefer?We’re thinking Bearskin is not well suited to be a hamburger joint.What about pasta?Salads? Pizza? Spaghetti or lasagna night?

Our other question is when to have dining at Bearskin – which nights would work out best for our guests who are on vacation for a week?We’re contemplating Friday as a fine dining night. (Saturday is not a good option for Chez Jude and because most of our guests check in and check out on the weekend, Saturday may not be ideal for them either.) We plan to have the Bearskin picnic gathering again on Monday evening, but all other nights are feasible for dining.After you’ve been at Bearskin for awhile, when do you get the urge to eat out?

We’d very much appreciate your thoughts on this.Feel free to comment below, or if you’re more comfortable sharing ideas privately, e-mail stay@bearskin.com

4 Responses to “Summer Restaurant Plans — Feedback Wanted”

Hello everyone! I am thrilled you are contemplating Chez Jude for the summer. I love the fine dining they offer at the restaurant. It would be great to have that in the dining room at Bearskin in the summer time. I also like the idea of a family night dinner. How about Wednesday and Friday nights? Perhaps Friday for the family meal as it may make it an easier night to pack for Saturday departure and not have to worry about cooking.
I have no idea if this is feasible for Chez Jude but I think cooking lessons would be a fun daytime activity. I know the kitchen is small so numbers may be limited. The class could be demonstration or participation. How many of us would love to learn how to properly cook that fresh caught fish to perfection, to bake a delicious summer dessert, to use fresh summer produce, etc? Maybe classes for teens and adults and another class for children could work— if not this summer, perhaps in the future?

Chez Jude at Bearskin is a real treat! I was there the end of Feb. with 11 women and we really enjoyed the awesome meal they made for us. In the summer my family arrives on Sunday. Since the welcome picnic is on Mon., maybe dinner by Chez Jude on Tue. or Wed. and also on Fri. would be good. Our group occupies 3 cabins and there are a handfull of children, so a family night is a nice idea. Jan Finnegan had an interesting comment, cooking classes. One spring (many years ago) I was at Bearskin for a weekend of cooking with Sally. We had a fantastic time. Good food for thought.

Having dinners in the summer is a great idea! We discussed it last evening and we agree with the earlier postings that Friday night would be a good family dinner night. The majority of guests are preparing to pack up for home over the weekend and food supplies are usually running low. With the lodge picnic on Monday, Wednesday may be a good choice for a more formal dining experience. However, Tuesdays are generally the slowest days in the restaurant business and may be more acceptable to the restaurant/chef.

I would love to see at least one cooking class for high school age and older. After seeing that Chez Jude was cooking over the winter, I contact them about classes they offer in the summer and was told that the cooking courses are taught out of the area in the summer. If not Chez Jude maybe another person.

I’m so happy to see your plans for dining at Bearskin with Chez Jude – what a wonderful idea! We’ve missed the dining room experience that ended when the Tuttles sold the lodge and will be happy to be patrons.

Looking forward to seeing you in a few weeks when my husband threatens the fish and I get some serious reading done!